Bull's eye
by Casa Circe
Summary: Happy Valentine's Day! A short one-shot from Bart's POV. He ponders on all that has lead to his heart being captured completely by a certain Marketing expert.


Bull's Eye

A Barthia Ficlet

_**DISCLAIMER: This story was made for no profit other than reviews. I do not own "100 Days to Heaven", kuha mo?**_

_**NOTE: Happy Valentine's Day! **_

_**I just felt like posting something for my 100DTH OTP Barthia on this special occasion. This was hurriedly written and honestly quite crappy but here's my little tribute to this awesome couple!**_

_**This short piece is set before that epic first kiss.**_

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As Bart Ramirez waited patiently outside Kevin's house, he cast a glance over the whole of his tumultuous relationship with Sophia Mendoza. In the short time that they had known each other, they had gone from being fierce rivals to friends and now, Bart hoped, there was a chance that they could be something more. He couldn't understand why it was so difficult to track her down. She seemed as mysterious as she was intelligent. But instead of being suspicious about her, Bart now was genuinely curious. He wanted the chance to get to know her better

But there had always been something standing in the way of them coming together, and he knew that he was to blame for the most part. He had given in to Bobby's pressuring and courted Jessica even if he never liked her. And he had tried to do the right thing. He had tried to be a good boyfriend to her. He had been attentive and supportive but he simply could not love her. Because even at the very beginning, when he had resented Sophia for being so brilliant, something deep inside him already knew that he loved her.

And now that he had finally found the guts to end things with Jessica and follow his heart, he discovered that nothing was as simple as he thought it would be. Sophia was angry at him for breaking up with Jessica. He needed to see her, he needed to explain what had really happened, and even if he knew she would probably only resent him further for having tricked Jessica.

How did I get into such a perplexing situation? Bart asked himself again as he reflected on all that had happened.

She had come out of nowhere into their lives. First, as an employee of the Villanueva's and then, she worked with Bobby in the Toy Company. But her unsurpassed talent in solving the company's problems, not just in the marketing department, won everyone over and made Bobby feel insecure.

Bart shook his head to banish unpleasant memories. A lot of this mess happened because of Bobby's crazy decisions, anyway, and now Bart knew that he should have refused to obey his brother from the very beginning.

But he also knew that he had been weak and subservient to his older brother out of a sense of indebtedness and gratitude. It did not help that Bobby always found an opportunity to remind Bart of how much he owed him for taking raising him and Yanie and for giving him a good life. But this whole mess with Jessica taught Bart to finally take a stand against his brother and to do the right thing. He finally gained confidence in himself and his abilities. He no longer lived in the shadow of Bobby.

And all these changes he owed to Sophia Mendoza.

What do I not owe Sophia, at this point? Bart thought. She changed my life completely and she doesn't even know it.

"I wished she spent more time in the office so that I could spend more time with her," he continued his reverie, "but she always seems so busy running all over the place and yet she always manages to get things done. She is really something else."

What was that Yanie had called Sophia before? Superwoman? Bart believed it was true.

In fact, the more he thought about how wonderful and amazing Sophia was, the more he felt undeserving of her. How could he ever be worthy of someone who was already doing so well on her own? Would she welcome his feelings? Would she return them?

He had spent countless nights tossing and turning over these possibilities but lately, he decided that he would just take the risk and tell her how he felt. Whatever happened after that, he did not want to think about yet.

He didn't even know what he was going to say to her when he saw her again. He was probably going to mess up and say something embarrassing or awkward. That was the effect she had on him, an effect that no other woman ever had on him.

He had had a number of girlfriends in the past and he had fancied himself in love with them at one point or another (except Jessica). But for the first time in his life, Bart Ramirez finally felt what it was like to truly love a person, in spite of everyone else's objections, in spite of the complexity of the situation, against all odds. It was a little dramatic but he still felt it was true.

He cherished all their moments together, no matter how brief. And it was because of Sophia that Bart always got excited about riding an elevator in the office. In fact, people were starting to give him funny looks because apparently, every time he rode an elevator lately, he always had a big smile on his face. These and all those other precious moments in the Toy Company filled Bart's every waking hour and made his long, arduous wait somewhat bearable.

And then there was Kevin and that unbelievable connection he had to Sophia. It was Kevin's advice that Bart decided to follow and now he had absolutely no regrets. Who would have thought that a kid he happened to meet in the park turned out to be someone close to Sophia?

Bart didn't believe in coincidences. At least, not after that. If there was such a thing as a sign from heaven, he was pretty sure that that was it. Kevin had not even known that he was referring to Sophia as the woman he truly loved and yet he had told him to go after her before it was too late.

"Well, Kevin," Bart thought, "here I am, taking a chance, throwing everything else aside to follow my heart."

He would wait for as long as it took. This time, not to stalk Sophia but to talk to her. To tell her everything.

His heart leaped up when he saw an old jeep approaching the gate of the house. Could this finally be the chance he had been waiting for? Bart took a deep breath and decided to go forward no matter what happened next.

Bart suddenly remembered the dart board where he had placed Sophia's picture in the early days of their acquaintance. He remembered spending hours and hours trying to puncture her face with the darts in order to relieve the tension he felt around her.

But those darts did not miss their mark. Each one went straight to Bart's heart.


End file.
